1985 Italian Grand Prix
9 September |number = 416 |officialname = LVI Gran Premio d'Italia |circuit = Autodromo Nazionale Monza |location = Monza, Italy |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.800 |laps = 51 |distance = 295.800 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:25.084 |fastestlap = 1:28.283 |fastestlapdriver = Nigel Mansell |fastestlapnation = GBR |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 38 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Nelson Piquet |secondnation = BRA-1968 |secondteam = |third = Ayrton Senna |thirdnation = BRA-1968 |thirdteam = }} The 1985 Italian Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the LVI Gran Premio d'Italia, was the twelfth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on the 8 September 1985.'Italian GP, 1985', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr416.html, (Accessed 26/03/2019) The race, which was the 50th Grand Prix to to be held at Monza, would see Alain Prost claim victory and establish a significant lead in the Championship. The build-up to the race was overshadowed by the death of another promising F1 talent, for racer Stefan Bellof had been killed at the 1000 km of Spa a week earlier. The West German born racer was not to be replaced for the Italian Grand Prix, with the Tyrrell team set to hot-foot away from the Monza circuit after the race to attend Bellof's funeral. Qualifying, meanwhile, would see Ayrton Senna claim pole position, his fifth of the season at the wheel of his 97T. He would be joined on the front row by Keke Rosberg, while Championship leader Prost claimed fifth, a row ahead of main title rival Michele Alboreto of . The start of the race saw Rosberg sprint ahead of Senna off the grid to claim the lead, with Nigel Mansell following his teammate through. Prost also made a strong start but could not sneak ahead of the Lotus, meaning it was Rosberg leading from Mansell, Senna and Prost at the head of the field. The early stages would see the order at the front quickly established, with Prost easing ahead of Senna, while an electrical glitch for Mansell put the Brit in the pits. Rosberg, meanwhile, was able to ease clear of his pursuers, while Senna appeared to have some early struggles with his tyres and hence slipped behind both Elio de Angelis and Niki Lauda. Once Lauda moved past de Angelis the order would remain fairly stable, until a failure of the Austrian's front wing forced the #1 into the pits. He would be followed into the pits by Rosberg a couple of laps later, the Finn needing fresh Goodyear tyres, leaving Prost with a small lead. Rosberg duly caught and passed Prost with his new tyres, although his race was to come to an end in the closing stages with a spectacular engine failure. Prost duly re-inherited the lead with six laps to go, while a late move from Nelson Piquet saw the Brazilian move into second ahead of compatriot Senna. With that the race was run, with Prost cruising home almost a full minute clear of Piquet and Senna behind. Marc Surer was next in the #8 , with Stefan Johansson classified in fifth for having run out of fuel on the penultimate lap, while Elio de Angelis claimed the final point in sixth. The results of the Italian Grand Prix meant that Prost had opened a twelve point lead at the head of the Championship, with Alboreto failing to score. McLaren-TAG Porsche, meanwhile, would finally overhaul Ferrari at the head of the Constructors Championship, with two points separating the established rivals. Background Alain Prost had established a small lead at the head of the title hunt as a result of the Dutch Grand Prix, moving three clear of second placed Michele Alboreto. Indeed, those two were now, realistically, the only drivers in the fight for the Championship, with a 23 point gap separating Alboreto from third placed Elio de Angelis. de Angelis would therefore have to win at least three of the remaining five races just to get on terms with the leaders, with dropped scores also set to come into effect later on in the year. In the Constructors' Championship, meanwhile, it had been a very good afternoon's work for in the Netherlands, with their first one-two of the campaign putting them within striking distance of leaders . Indeed, the gap between the two was left at just five points arriving in Italy, with Ferrari effectively relying on Alboreto's form to keep them ahead of the Anglo-German alliance. Behind, looked to be out of the fight in third, although with just 21 points between themselves and McLaren it would only take one good weekend to launch the Norfolk based squad back into the hunt. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Zakspeed withdrew their entry after Jonathan Palmer's accident at the 1000 km of Spa. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Mansell and Alboreto were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Ghinzani was unable to start after stalling on the formation lap. Milestones * 1000th entry for a chassis.'1985 Italy GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1985&gp=Italian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 26/03/2019) * Elio de Angelis made his 100th Grand Prix start.'12. Italy 1985', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/italie.aspx, (Accessed 26/03/2019) * entered their tenth race as an engine supplier. * Tenth entry for Kenny Acheson. * Debut for as a constructor. * Fifth pole position for Ayrton Senna. ** Also the 40th pole to be set using a engine. * Alain Prost claimed his 21st victory. * secured their 48th win as a constructor. ** Also the British squad's 120th podium finish. ** claimed their eighteenth victory. * Nelson Piquet secured 's twentieth podium finish. * Nigel Mansell recorded 's twentieth fastest lap as a constructor. Standings Alain Prost extended his grip on the 1985 World Championship with victory in Monza, opening out a twelve point lead over second placed Michele Alboreto. Indeed, the Italian's inability to score on home soil may have proved fatal to his title ambitions, although with four races to go, and 36 points to fight for, Alboreto was still a major contender for the crown. In contrast, Elio de Angelis was now mathematically out of the fight, with the Italian only able to score 31 points before dropped scores were applied to his tally. In the Constructors Championship it had been a bad day for the tifosi on home soil, for had lost the lead in the title hunt for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix. Indeed, it was rivals who would leave Italy at the head of the field, opening out a two point gap over the Italian team in their duel for the title. Indeed, third placed were running out of time to mount a title challenge, having slipped 23 points behind. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1985 Grands Prix Category:Italian Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in Italy